Hong Kong students have won one gold, one silver and two bronze medals, and an honorable mention at the 36th International Physics Olympiad in Spain from July 3 to 12, the Hong Kong Education and Manpower Bureau said on Wednesday.

This was the first time that all members of a Hong Kong team have bagged an award at an Olympiad.

Chan Pui-tin, the bureau's chief curriculum development officer for Gifted Education, said team members were selected from the beneficiaries of the bureau's Exceptionally Gifted Students Scheme.

Team members were put through nine months' intensive training during the selection process.

Introduced in 2001, the scheme provides a series of structured enhancement programs in sciences, mathematics and leadership skills.

Chan said that in recent years, the scheme has expanded the scope of training, and activities are organized in collaboration with tertiary institutions to cater for different students' attributes and needs.

After the rigorous selection process, the five most outstanding students were selected to represent Hong Kong in the Olympiad. More than 70 teams took part in the competition.

The Olympiad aims to foster friendly international relationships among physicists, to nurture the potential of gifted young physicists, and to promote physics education.

(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2005)